Speak to Win: How to Present with Power in Any Situation

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Overview

The ability to speak with confidence and deliver winning presentations can accelerate your career, earn people’s great respect, and enable you to achieve your greatest—even most impossible-seeming goals. But what many people don't realize is that anyone can learn to be a great speaker, just as easily as they can learn to drive a car or ride a bike!

As one of the world’s premier speakers and personal success experts, Brian Tracy is the ideal instructor. In Speak to Win, Tracy ...

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Speak to Win: How to Present with Power in Any Situation

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More About This Book

Overview

The ability to speak with confidence and deliver winning presentations can accelerate your career, earn people’s great respect, and enable you to achieve your greatest—even most impossible-seeming goals. But what many people don't realize is that anyone can learn to be a great speaker, just as easily as they can learn to drive a car or ride a bike!

As one of the world’s premier speakers and personal success experts, Brian Tracy is the ideal instructor. In Speak to Win, Tracy reveals time-tested tricks of the trade that readers can use to present powerfully and speak persuasively, whether in an informal meeting or in front of a large audience. Readers will learn how to:

• become confident, positive, and relaxed in front of any audience

• grab people’s attention from the start

• use body language, props, and vocal techniques to keep listeners engaged

• transition smoothly from one point to the next

• use humor, stories, quotes, and questions skillfully

• deal with skepticism when presenting new ideas

• wrap up strongly and persuasively

Brimming with unbeatable strategies for winning people over every time, Tracy lets readers in on his most powerful presentation secrets in this indispensable, life-changing guide.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Now then, S&MM SoundOff may not be the most likely venue for a book review, but indulge me for a moment: I’d like to draw your attention to the newest tome by Brian Tracy, entitled Speak to Win: How to Present with Power in Any Situation (AMACOM Books)....In addition to penning the “Management Strategies” column that appears in every issue of S&MM, Brian’s one of the top 10 brand names in the motivational speaking business (sharing company with a couple of fellas named Covey, Robbins and Chopra). So needless to say, when the guy pens a text on giving killer presentations, you ignore it at your own peril....Whether Brian’s dispensing advice on mnemonic strategies, speech cadence, body language or even the proper climate control for your meeting room, you’ll find plenty of practical information here. "

--Sales & Marketing Magazine blog

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780814401576
  • Publisher: AMACOM Books
  • Publication date: 1/31/2008
  • Edition description: New Edition
  • Pages: 208
  • Sales rank: 434,636
  • Lexile: 1050L (what's this?)
  • Product dimensions: 15.50 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.00 (d)

Meet the Author

Brian Tracy (Solana Beach, CA) is one of the world’s most successful speakers and consultants on personal and professional development, addressing more than 250,000 people a year. He is the author of many books, including The Power of Charm (978-0-8144-7357-3); Focal Point (978-0-8144-7278-1); Create Your Own Future; Eat That Frog!; and Goals.

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Read an Excerpt

C H A P T E R 1 0

Controlling Your Space

We cannot make it rain, but we can see to it that the rain falls on

prepared soil.

—HENRI NOUWEN

One of the key determinants of your success as a speaker is

the room in which you speak. You must inspect it carefully

and prepare it as much as possible.

There are three key physical considerations in speaking. They

are (1) sound; (2) light; and (3) temperature. These are the three

areas where things always go wrong in a speaking engagement.

You have heard of Murphy’s Law, which says that whatever can go

wrong, will go wrong. This law was probably discovered by people

who give talks and seminars in hotels and convention facilities.

Know the Lies People Tell

The first rule to know when holding any kind of public speaking

function is that hotels lie. I learned this when I first began speaking

and I have seen it proved over and again, 90 percent of the

time. Hotels lie.

It is almost as if the people who arrange facilities for conventions,

seminars, and speeches have taken a special course in the

various lies, distortions, and half-truths that they tell the meeting

planners and speakers, especially on the day and at the moment

of the presentation.

Fire Regulations

One of their favorites is ‘‘fire regulations.’’ They always say that

they cannot do or change something because of fire regulations.

The fact is that they do not want to change anything about the

room or the setup. Their claim of ‘‘fire regulations’’ is invariably

false, but it intimidates the inexperienced meeting planner into

acquiescence.

Whenever I hear this, I simply say, ‘‘My father is a fire inspector,

and I am quite familiar with the fire regulations. Please show

me where in the regulations it says you are not allowed to arrange

the room in this way.’’ This always stuns them. They immediately

drop the excuse and begin to cooperate. I’ve seen this happen over

and over again, in hundreds of facilities.

‘‘It’s Computer Controlled’’

Another excuse that they give you is that ‘‘The lighting is computer

controlled. There is nothing we can do about it until the engineer

arrives.’’

For some reason the engineer is never on the premises or immediately

available. He or she is at a meeting, away on vacation,

or dealing with another emergency.

How to Deal with the Lies People Tell

The key to succeeding in organizing the facilities is for you to be

friendly, polite, and charming but simultaneously gently insistent

with the staff. Your goal must be not to get them mad at you early

in the process. They are the only ones who can help you. But here

are some things you can do to get some results.

Threaten Them If Necessary

One day, I was doing a seminar in Tampa, Florida. The room temperature

was 80 degrees. People were perspiring, waving their

seminar materials as fans, and generally unhappy and dissatisfied.

They were starting to leave and ask for their money back on the

way out.

I asked the organizer to call the hotel and have them turn the

temperature down. She called them repeatedly, but to no avail.

They gave all the usual excuses. ‘‘The engineer is working on it; it

is computer controlled; we are doing everything we can.’’

Finally, at the break, I called the head office and told them that

if the temperature did not come down and the air conditioner was

not turned on within two minutes, we would cancel the seminar,

refuse to pay for the room, and sue them for lost revenues. It was

amazing. As I stood there, I could feel the air conditioning coming

on. After pleading with them for two hours and listening to every

excuse imaginable, as soon as we threatened not to pay, the air

conditioning roared on and stayed on for the rest of the function.

Refuse to Pay

I always encourage my clients to call someone in charge and tell

the person, ‘‘We will not pay for the room if the air conditioning

or temperature is not adjusted immediately.’’ In almost every

case, all the technical difficulties that had been holding them back

are suddenly resolved and the temperature is lowered or adjusted

to the proper comfort level.

Check the Lighting

Lighting is very important in a seminar presentation. The total attention

of the audience should be on your face, with only casual

side-glances to your props. Remember that 70 percent of the people

in your audience are ‘‘visuals.’’ They can only process information

if they can see it. The other 30 percent are ‘‘auditories.’’ These

are people who process information only when they can hear it

clearly. Your job is to cater to and satisfy both groups.

Fifty percent of the time, the lighting will be wrong in some

way when you arrive to do your presentation. For this reason, you

always want to arrive early enough so that you can check out the

lighting thoroughly before you go on stage. If something is wrong

with the lighting when you begin to speak, it is almost impossible

to make any changes afterward.

Where to Put the Lights

In stage or TV productions, people spend one or two days in advance

just setting up the lights. They arrange the lighting and

move it around so that there are no shadows on the stage or on

the actors. They make sure that every single person is absolutely

clear to every single participant in the audience, from every angle.

This is the ideal.

As the speaker, you must be fully lit, 100 percent of the time

from both sides so there are no shadows on your face. It is not

unusual for the facility to have lights that beam on you from the

top rather than from the front, shading out the bottom half of your

face. This causes a negative audience reaction.

The Phantom of the Opera

On one speaking occasion at a hotel, we asked for additional lighting

and the hotel told us (remember, hotels lie) that it could only

find one spotlight. The hotel staff brought it into the room and set

it up to one side at the rear of the audience. This spotlight shone

on one half of my face, giving me a ‘‘Phantom of the Opera’’ look

for my entire presentation.

The reaction from the audience was immediate and negative.

People actually became angry. They criticized the talk and demanded

their money back. They walked out. For some reason, the

half-faced lighting made me look sinister and evil and the people

reacted in a negative way. We never made the mistake of having

only one light again.

Your Face Is All-Important

When I organize lighting for a seminar, I tell the technicians that

a person in the back row should be able to see a zit on my face

from where she is sitting. I emphasize that the lighting on the

stage should be as bright as an operating theatre. They often nod

and pretend to agree but secretly think that you don’t know what

you’re talking about. You must therefore be insistent.

In many cases, the staff will set up your stage and podium for

the convenience of the screens rather than to illuminate the

speaker clearly. The staff members will say, ‘‘If we turn on all the

lights, it will wash out the screen.’’ Be alert to this because it happens

all the time. Insist that you don’t care how the screens look.

The light on your face is what counts.

Check in Ahead of Time

I was giving a seminar in Irvine, California, a couple of years ago.

My seminar was for the entire afternoon, and, as usual, I arrived in

the middle of the morning so I could watch the previous speakers.

When I walked into the room, a first-class Hyatt hotel facility,

it was only half lit. It was a form of semidarkness, almost like a

nightclub. The speaker was visible in a hazy, distant sort of way. I

was appalled.

I immediately brought one of the hotel staff members to the

room. I said, ‘‘Is there any way you can turn up the lighting in this

room?’’ He said, ‘‘Oh, did you want the lighting up full?’’

When I said yes, he immediately went to a wall panel, touched

a couple of buttons, and the whole room became fully lit, classroom

style. It was a shock to me and to everyone in the audience.

They had been straining to see and get the message of the speaker

for the last two hours.

It’s Not a Nightclub Performance

This has become a common refrain for me. Whenever I go to a

speaking engagement, I tell them that I want all the lights on full.

I tell them, ‘‘This is not a nightclub performance.’’

It is amazing to me how many professional lighting techni-

cians think that the speaker wants the audience to be darkened

while the speaker is so brightly lit that he or she cannot see people

in the audience because of the glaring light in his eyes. The other

problem with this is that the audience views the speaker more as

an entertainer. People sit quietly to watch the performance, not

wanting to make any noise. They do not respond or interact with

the speaker. The audience sits almost like a mole peering out of

its hole at the speaker lit up on the stage.

Remember, unless you are a professional entertainer in a

nightclub, you want what is called ‘‘one hundred candle power at

desk level.’’ This means that the entire room should be as bright

as a schoolroom. You want people to be able to see one another,

see you clearly, and take notes on the subject you are discussing.

This is essential for audience enjoyment and satisfaction.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction: Speaking to Win 1

Chapter 1 The Arts of Speaking and Rhetoric 8

Chapter 2 Planning and Preparation Made Simple 18

Chapter 3 Self-Confidence and Mental Mastery: Eliminating the

Fear of Public Speaking 41

Chapter 4 Start Strong with Any Audience 55

Chapter 5 Mastering Meetings with Small Groups 70

Chapter 6 Mastering Small-Group Presentations and Negotiations 81

Chapter 7 Platform Mastery: Impressing Large Audiences 96

Chapter 8 Vocal Mastery: Powerful Voice Techniques 118

Chapter 9 Tricks of the Trade: Techniques of Master Speakers 131

Chapter 10 Controlling Your Space 144

Chapter 11 End with a Bang: Leave Them Breathless! 164

Chapter 12 Making Persuasive Sales Presentations 173

Index 195

About the Author 201

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Sort by: Showing 1 – 4 of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Posted February 22, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts

    This is must read for anyone!

    Brian Tracy reveals some very powerful truths in this book! I have read a lot of communication books. I even minored in communications at the collegiate level. To date, I can honestly say, nothing I've read prior had the gripping effect the way this book did. "Speak to Win" grabbed my attention from the very start, and gave me the motivation I was looking for to go out into the public sector and speak to anyone at any level! It helped me to personally uncover the underlying factors and fears existing in public speaking. It also assisted in opening the awareness of my own capabilities. The best part about this book is the humorous way in which the author literally teaches all the tricks and tools that allowed me to personally improvement my own speaking style! This book is a winner! I recommend it to anyone who is indeavoring to become a better speaker.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted June 1, 2009

    Great book by a proven all-star speaker.

    What I liked most about the book was that the author was very candid with the reader. He was not guarded in providing advice to his reader, but instead truly wanted to impart good, practical, and most importantly, applicable advice. Many outstanding ideas in this book.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted November 18, 2008

    more from this reviewer

    Thorough guide to public speaking

    Brian Tracy is a master communicator who has made millions giving speeches and writing books. In this one, Tracy stresses that you must carefully plan every part of a speech, and that everything should flow logically from one idea to the next. Rehearse your speech until it is perfect. These are all great points. Their message? You must respect your audience and never waste its time. Unfortunately, Tracy sometimes doesn¿t always heed his own wise counsel. In this book, he tends to reiterate certain pieces of information (especially his eight components of any long speech); This repetition is unnecessary, although the list and the pointers are valuable. Tracy possesses a wealth of knowledge about how to set up a speaking engagement, plan a speech and then communicate it with impact. Indeed, getAbstract confirms that you will find valuable nuggets of wisdom about public speaking on virtually every page of this book. Sometimes twice.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 8, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

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